


Blue Flower

by GhostwithShotgun



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Past Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Rated T for swearing, iroh and ozai are mentioned but not in the fic, it's Zuko so yeah, no abusive ex Jet tho!, there is one slur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostwithShotgun/pseuds/GhostwithShotgun
Summary: Zuko had always been interested in makeup, but it's not like he could experiment with it while he lived with Ozai. And even now, several years later, he hadn't told anyone about it. So when he forgets some of his products at his boyfriend's apartment, he panics.(I'm really bad at summaries, but this is basically Zuko working on getting comfortable expressing himself with makeup around different people in different settings, with Sokka there to support him)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 287





	Blue Flower

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *logs onto AO3 once every year to drop a fic for a random pairing from a random fandom*
> 
> I might change the title later, and maybe edit the fic a bit if I feel like it. It's currently past 3am, and I've had this just sitting for several months and I wanted to get it done lmao
> 
> I still hope you enjoy it though!
> 
> A fun game: take a shot every time you see the words "makeup", "eyeshadow", or "palette"  
> (Please don't, you will end up in the hospital)

Zuko looked into the mirror above the sink in his boyfriend’s bathroom, trying to decide whether he should add eyeliner or not. He had tried some new things with his eyeshadow, adding colours he rarely used, and on one hand eyeliner would cover some of his hard work. On the other, the look felt incomplete. He sighed and grabbed his liquid eyeliner. He might as well go all out. _It’s not like anyone will see it if it looks bad anyways._

He had found makeup interesting since he was a kid. He had been drawn to the pretty colours. But it’s not like he could actually _explore_ that particular interest while he lived with Ozai. If his father had ever found out… Well, it wouldn’t have been good. When thirteen-year-old Zuko had accidentally mentioned his then boyfriend, his father had responded by burning his face on the stovetop before promptly kicking him out. And he did that despite the fact that he understood homosexuality. He didn’t support it, but he understood it, and recognized that it was a real thing, even if he thought it was wrong. He didn’t understand makeup. He just knew it was “for women”, and would be a visual reminder of his son being gay. So Zuko never got to experiment with it until he moved into his uncle’s apartment, and even then he was too scared to actually let anyone see him wear makeup. He only ever did it locked alone in either Uncle’s or Sokka’s bathroom. Uncle and Sokka didn’t even know that he had an interest in makeup. Which was why he was here, in Sokka’s bathroom, when the owner himself - Zuko’s boyfriend since two years back - wasn’t even home.

Zuko had brought his makeup bag over when he came over to have dinner with Sokka the previous night, because he knew Sokka had an early class, and he would have time to play around with his makeup before they were going to meet up with Toph for lunch. While Zuko hadn’t had many friends of his own when he was younger, he had been integrated into Sokka’s social circle since they started dating. But Toph was the one who had introduced them. She had a few classes in engineering with Sokka, and was a childhood acquaintance to Zuko, due to their parents being friends, so she pretty much forced them to hang out. So when the others were busy, it was fun to hang out, just the three of them. The OG Zuko Team, as Sokka sometimes called them.

Zuko leaned back, inspecting his work. The liner was a bit uneven, but it wasn’t too noticeable, and he really liked the look he had ended up with. He was too anxious to let anyone see him with makeup on, but he did like the way it looked on him. He briefly considered taking a photo, just to preserve the look somehow, like he always did. But he immediately decided against it, like he always did. He did look at the clock though. Shit! The liner had apparently taken longer than he thought, because he was supposed to meet up with Sokka in ten minutes. He took a minute to make sure he got rid of all traces of makeup, and then left the apartment as fast as he could, locking the door with the key Sokka gave him for their first anniversary. 

Seven minutes later, with one minute to spare, he stopped outside the door of Sokka’s lecture hall, trying to catch his breath. Sokka didn’t live that far off campus, but Zuko still had to hurry to make it in time on foot. By the time his breathing was back under control and his face didn’t feel as hot, the door opened and people started walking out. Zuko straightened up and started looking for his boyfriend in the crowd. He didn’t have to though, because seconds later he felt someone come up on his left - his blind side - and wrap their arms around his waist. 

“Hi babe. Did you run here? You’re warm.” Sokka said before pressing a brief kiss to Zuko’s cheek, right below his scar. Zuko responded by leaning slightly more into the embrace.

“Yeah, lost track of time.” he replied, and Sokka simply hummed and pecked his cheek again, before letting go of Zuko and moving away slightly, to stand at a more socially acceptable distance. Zuko shot a brief look at the other people nearby, happy to see that no one seemed to have paid any attention to them. It’s not that they were keeping their relationship secret. Rather the opposite. Everyone they knew knew about their relationship, and they never tried to hide it in public. They just didn’t overdo it. They didn’t want to be arrested for public indecency. But Zuko assumed that everyone from the engineering department knew about their relationship at this point, and they simply didn’t give a shit. They were chill like that.

“Well, you know Toph gets all huffy if we’re even a minute late, so let’s go.” Sokka said, flashing Zuko a bright smile before grabbing his hand to lead the way.

While they made their way to their friend group’s favorite lunch place - a small café with student-friendly prices - Sokka talked a mile a minute about the interesting stuff from the lecture. Zuko didn’t even understand a third of it, but he kept humming along anyways because he’s whipped, and loved hearing Sokka talk about his interests. Even after years of knowing each other, Zuko was content to just listen and let Sokka rant. It’s not like he had done anything worth talking about anyways, unless he felt like starting a conversation about makeup. Which he didn’t.

They made it to the café before Toph, and managed to snatch their usual table by one of the windows. Toph showed up less than a minute later, and her and Sokka started discussing something that Zuko couldn’t even begin to comprehend. As a business management major, he didn’t really know too much about the merits of using different metals for stuff. He focused on making sure they actually got food instead. Once they were eating, Sokka was too focused on his food to keep talking, so Toph started talking to Zuko instead. Lunch passed quickly, as it always did, and soon Zuko was saying goodbye to Sokka and Toph to go help Uncle at the tea shop for a few hours, before he had to work on an assignment which was due in a week. He left with a kiss to Sokka’s cheek, and went about the rest of his day in a very good mood.

************

He was in the middle of researching some obscure psychological phenomenon related to leadership, for his assignment, when he got a text from Sokka. He opened a promising source in a new tab, and then picked his phone up. When Sokka texted, it was either to rant about something, or to have a whole conversation, and Zuko didn’t want to forget about the source if it was the latter. 

**Sokka:** _Hey babe, just found a bunch of makeup in the bathroom. Is it yours?_

Zuko almost dropped his phone. Of course. He’s so fucking _stupid._ He forgot his makeup when he left Sokka’s apartment earlier. He stared at the screen, not knowing how to reply. _I could lie, say that it isn’t mine… No that’s stupid. Then he’d worry about who would break into his apartment to do their makeup…_

**Sokka:** _You know you have your read receipts on, right? I’m gonna assume it’s yours and you don’t wanna talk about it. But you know it’s fine, right? This is a judgement free zone, and makeup is dope as hell :)_

Of course Zuko knew that Sokka wouldn’t judge him for it. Sokka never judged anyone, not unless he knew the full story behind someone’s actions and still deemed them immoral. He would never judge anyone for something as innocent as makeup. Zuko knew this, And he should probably let Sokka know that he knew.

 **Zuko:** _I know. It’s just… an interest I’ve had since I was a kid. But it’s not like I could explore it when I lived with Ozai, and I guess old habits die hard. No one else knows, not even Uncle._

 **Sokka:** _Your secret’s safe with me. But you don’t have to hide it when it’s just us, okay?_

What could Zuko have ever done to deserve Sokka? He knows that this really shouldn’t be such a big deal, that people should be able to be who they are without judgement, but Sokka… He was just so good at showing Zuko support, while staying clear of any and all boundaries. Which had been especially important during their first months together. Sokka was the first guy Zuko started dating since he broke up with Jet, the boyfriend he accidentally told Ozai about. They were still on good terms when they broke up, and there was no bad blood between them or anything. But getting your face burned and permanently scarred by your father is pretty traumatic, and their relationship just wasn’t healthy for either of them after it happened. It had taken Zuko a long time to get comfortable in his relationship with Sokka, and it happened more than once that his boyfriend had to calm him down when old memories came back and sent him into a panic attack. Sokka knew that putting any pressure on Zuko would make him spiral. Even for things he wanted to do, like getting his ears pierced. Sokka would tell him that he supported it and that he should feel free to do it, but never actually pressuring him to do anything until he felt ready. Just like now. Letting Zuko know that if he wanted to wear makeup at the apartment, then he could do so, but he didn’t have to. There was no “oh that’s cool, you gotta show me sometime!”, no pressure, just a simple “okay, I’m glad you told me, now I won’t be surprised if I find makeup in the bathroom again.”. Zuko put his phone down, and felt slightly lighter. He always did after telling Sokka about something. And Zuko felt like it wouldn’t be too long before he was comfortable enough to wear makeup around Sokka. It’s not like he hasn’t considered it before, and now the cat’s out of the bag.

************

Three weeks later, he decided to do it. He had spent a week hyping himself up and getting used to the idea. It was made easier by the fact that Sokka made a point of talking about makeup, while also not making Zuko feel like he had to put it on. Like when Suki sent him a snapchat of a palette she wanted, and Sokka commented on how pretty a certain shade looked. Once Zuko had made his mind up, it was only a matter of timing. He wasn’t going to do his makeup if he had to be in public after, and he didn’t want to just excuse himself from hanging out with Sokka, only to do his makeup and return. And three weeks after telling Sokka about his makeup, he finally had a great opportunity. He tried to divide his weekends equally between Sokka and Uncle, and this was a Sokka weekend, and he would have a few hours to himself in Sokka’s apartment when he went over on Friday, because while he didn’t have anything to attend after lunch, Sokka wouldn’t be back home until a bit after five. So he would have a couple of hours to himself to do his makeup. 

He was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to decide what he wanted to do. It felt weird, trying to do his makeup with someone else’s opinion in mind. He wanted to look good, obviously, and he strongly considered doing a more simple and sleek look, which he knew would look good. But he didn’t know if Sokka would think it looked cooler if he did something more extra. Which he knew was ridiculous, because Sokka would be hyped enough about the fact that Zuko was wearing makeup around him, even if it was just a layer of foundation. But you can’t blame Zuko for wanting to impress his boyfriend. He had even brought two different eyeshadow palettes, one with neutrals, and one with bright colours, because he just couldn’t decide. Simple and sleek would be easier, and he knew for sure he wouldn’t fuck it up. But extra was more fun and noticeable. He sighed and stared at his own reflection. It didn’t even _matter._ Sokka would be absolutely over the moon either way. Repeating that like a mantra, Zuko grabbed the neutral palette and got to work. He could do extra some other time, and impress Sokka then.

************

Three hours later, Zuko was chilling on the couch with a full face of makeup (minus lipstick, they were just gonna eat and make out anyways, so he figured gloss was good enough), and Sokka had just texted him that he was on his way with pizza. So Zuko took it upon himself to find something for them to watch. He did his best to look relaxed, but he was nervous as hell. Logically, he knew it would be fine, but there was a part of him that expected that Sokka would change his mind completely when he actually saw Zuko with makeup on. And on top of that he was unreasonably worried about whether Sokka would like the look or not. Zuko was just a mess of nerves. 

Ten minutes later, he heard the door unlock, and he had to take a few calming breaths. This was _not_ worth getting a panic attack over.

“Honey, I’m home!” Sokka yelled as soon as he had closed the door behind him, and Zuko smiled a little bit despite his nerves.

“In the living room. How do you feel about rewatching Umbrella Academy?” Zuko asked, and he was surprised by how steady his voice actually sounded. _I’ve got this._

“Sure, it’s been a while since we watched it.” Sokka said as he entered the room, and sat down next to Zuko who was facing the TV. Zuko started the first episode, and then turned to Sokka to grab his pizza with as much nonchalance as he could possibly muster. At first it didn’t seem like Sokka even noticed anything, and Zuko briefly felt weirdly disappointed, but then Sokka did a double take and Zuko braced himself for the moment of truth.

“... Spirits, you are absolutely gorgeous.” Sokka said, and he actually sounded a bit breathless. Zuko hadn’t expected that, and apparently his surprise showed on his face. 

“You are. I really am the luckiest man there ever was. You always look stunning, but like… the makeup really makes your eyes stand out, and I love your eyes.” Sokka rambled on, and suddenly Zuko was really glad for the layers of foundation and concealer, because they hid at least some of the blush he felt rising to his cheeks. Sokka just kept staring at his face, his eyes full of adoration, and Zuko was starting to feel bashful. Sokka seemed to notice, and diverted his gaze a bit, but he still didn’t really look away. 

“Do you always leave your scar as it is, or do you ever try to cover it?” Sokka asked, and if anyone else had asked, Zuko would have been uncomfortable, but he knew Sokka just asked out of plain curiosity. So Zuko didn’t mind at all.

“Sometimes, but my favorite part of makeup is the eyeshadow, and it just looks weird over the scar, so I usually leave it.” he said, and Sokka nodded. He seemed to be thinking about what to say next, most likely whether he wanted to keep asking stuff or not.

“Well, you always look beautiful either way.” Sokka finally concluded and turned back to the TV. Zuko took a breath of relief and joined him. He hadn’t expected Sokka to look so absolutely stunned, but minus that, it went just about how he expected. Still, being nervous always left him completely drained once he calmed down, so when he finished his pizza he cuddled up to Sokka and just dozed off.

************

Over the next couple of weeks, Zuko moved his entire makeup collection to Sokka’s apartment. He didn’t really have any use for it at his uncle’s apartment anyways. He also started wearing it more frequently around Sokka, and they quickly figured out that Sokka _really_ liked when Zuko left lipstick marks on him. Zuko definitely had fun exploring that. Zuko also started warming up to the idea of wearing at least a bit of eyeliner around the rest of their friends, as long as they were in the apartment. Sokka hadn’t mentioned it at all, but it was an idea Zuko had started toying with about two weeks after he first wore makeup around Sokka. He knew the others wouldn’t mind at all. Katara was all about crushing gender roles in any and every way, and Suki would probably just be excited to try different looks together. Zuko had seen Aang wearing maxi skirts in his and Katara’s apartment several times, because _they’re just so comfy, Zuko!_ And Toph was literally blind, and probably couldn’t give less of a fuck even if she could see. Plus, he had Sokka to back him up now, so he felt more sure of himself. After a few weeks of thinking about it, it wasn’t really a question of _if_ , but rather a question of when the timing would be right.

And two months later he suddenly got an opportunity, in the form of a group movie night. They were all going to be in Sokka’s apartment, which meant Zuko could get ready there and not have to go out in public. So while Sokka prepared snacks, Zuko snuck into the bathroom. He didn’t want to do anything too visible, so he just put on some concealer and a very simple, k-pop style liner. It was visible, but not dramatic in the slightest. He took a deep breath, and then went to join Sokka. He was nowhere near as nervous as he had been the first time, but he was still stressing out a little bit. As he entered the living room, Sokka put a huge bowl of popcorn on the table, and then went to put his arms around Zuko’s neck.

“You look very pretty, love.” he mumbled, absolutely unfazed, and then gave Zuko a chaste kiss. It was barely more than a lingering peck, but it still served its purpose and calmed Zuko down. Right on time, too, as the doorbell rang literally two seconds after they parted. Sokka chuckled slightly as he stepped away from Zuko.

“Do you wanna get the door, or wait here?” _Where do you want to be when they see you?_

“I’ll wait here.” Zuko mumbled, and Sokka smiled brightly before going to let their guests in. Zuko sat down in his favorite spot on the couch and waited. He heard the loud voices in the hallway, and tried to semi-distract himself by thinking about who would notice first. Toph was out of the question for obvious reasons (unless no one noticed until he had to talk and she realized he sounded nervous). Aang was a wild card. Either he would be completely oblivious, or he would notice first and make a really offhand comment about it. Katara and Suki were the only actually observant ones in their group (plus Sokka, but he didn’t really count this time). But they might not even comment on it, they might just notice and then move on with their lives. So Zuko really had no idea what was going to happen. He resisted the urge to bite his nails - a nervous habit he had adopted from Sokka -, and grabbed some popcorn just to have something to keep his hands and mouth occupied. He heard all of them moving towards the living room, and continued to stare intently at the TV.

“Hey, Zuko!” Aang shouted and threw his arms around Zuko’s shoulders - from the back, over the back of the couch - in what was probably one of the least graceful hugs ever. Zuko turned his head to greet Aang properly, and could see when Aang noticed his face. _It was Aang, then._

“Your eyeliner looks nice.” Aang commented with a bright smile, and then moved to his usual spot at the other end of the couch, while Sokka sat down next to Zuko. Toph was already seated in what had become her armchair. And Katara and Suki were both leaning closer to get a good look at Zuko’s face. Zuko fought the urge to turn away, but he couldn’t help the bashful blush that rose to his cheeks at being scrutinized so closely.

“It does look nice.” was all Katara said once she decided she had looked at him enough. As she moved away from him to go sit next to Aang, Suki also leaned back, but with a grin plastered on her face. 

“I’m so stopping by tomorrow so that we can do our makeup together.” she said, and then sat down on the cushions on the floor by Toph’s armchair. No one said anything else related to makeup while they started the movie, and once Zuko relaxed again Sokka took one of Zuko’s hands and moved it to his lap, and caressed it with his thumb. Zuko took it for what it was - a nonverbal way of saying he’s proud of Zuko. And Zuko was proud of himself. He knew, logically, that it would be fine, but it was still a huge step forward. Zuko relaxed completely and snuggled up to Sokka’s side to enjoy the movie.

************

Suki had been delighted to see that Zuko’s collection included more than just eyeliner. She made a habit of coming over to do her makeup with Zuko whenever she was going out somewhere, sometimes even letting him do her eyes. She had also started pestering Sokka about letting them do his makeup, but so far she had been unsuccessful. She had almost convinced him once, when she said that it would make Zuko happy if Sokka let them at least put some eyeshadow on him. But the two of them had discussed that already, because Sokka had once asked Zuko if it would help him get more comfortable if Sokka wore a little bit of makeup every now and then. Zuko had of course told him that it was more than enough that he was so supportive, and that he should only wear makeup if he wanted to do it for himself. Sokka had looked at Zuko and seemed to remember this conversation, because he had then turned to Suki with a blinding smile and said “sorry, but we already talked about it and I know he is fine with me showing off my bare face.”.

Over the course of the next few months, Zuko got more comfortable with everything. It was a relatively slow process, but his friends and boyfriend helped. Sokka always made sure to compliment Zuko and listen to his increasingly common makeup-ravings. He even got Zuko an eyeshadow palette for his birthday, one that he had mentioned just once that he wanted to get once he had more money to spare. Suki kept on stopping by to do her makeup with him. Katara and Aang complimented his looks every single time they happened to come over while he was wearing makeup. Even Toph had once said that she thought it was cool that he wore it, despite what his father would think. Then she had of course punched him in the arm, as to not seem too sappy. And the more comfortable Zuko got, the more he wanted to challenge himself. It felt like the easiest next step would be to wear his makeup in public, rather than around his uncle, because only relative strangers would see him. But he also didn’t want to wear it in public for too long the first time he did it. An opportunity eventually showed itself, and he decided he would be a fool not to take it.

One morning he got a text from Sokka, asking him to bring his notebook for his political science classes, as he had forgotten it and his break between his engineering lab and his first pol-sci class wasn’t long enough to go back to the apartment to get it. (Zuko didn’t know how Sokka managed to keep up with a double major in two very different fields, and he was constantly in awe of his boyfriend.) So before Zuko had to leave, he once again put on very simplistic eyeliner. He wouldn’t be out for more than half an hour, and he figured that was the most comfortable time frame he could get. He just hoped that none of Sokka’s pol-sci course mates would notice. While everyone from the engineering department knew about them, and didn’t bat an eyelash when Sokka was all over him, he wasn’t even sure the pol-sci people even knew Sokka was in a relationship. They had of course seen Sokka around Zuko before, but they made an effort to never act obviously like a couple whenever they were around. A lot of the pol-sci students came from families similar to Zuko’s own, and neither he nor Sokka felt comfortable being too open around them.

Zuko felt slightly nervous as he got closer to Sokka’s lecture hall, but this wasn’t nearly as nerve wracking as wearing makeup around Sokka for the first time, so he was fine. As he walked up to Sokka - who was looking extremely good in white skinny jeans and a fitted navy sweater - Zuko noticed that a lot of people were waiting outside the hall, and he tensed up the slightest bit. He greeted Sokka with a tight smile, and as Sokka grabbed his notebook with a relieved ‘thanks’, he looked at Zuko’s face and his eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t say anything though, and Zuko was grateful for that. The less attention he drew to himself, the better. 

He decided to stick around and keep Sokka company until his lecture began. It’s not like he had anything better to do. Both of them made sure to keep a little bit of distance, and kept their conversation light and casual. The doors to the hall opened a couple of minutes later, and Zuko sighed in relief. No one had said anything. But then he saw a group of guys - exactly the kind of guys he didn’t want to find out about his sexuality - stare at him intently as they got closer. He instinctively shrunk in on himself a bit, and Sokka looked around to spot the cause of his change in demeanor. Zuko could hear their comments as soon as they got close enough to get a good look on his face. 

“He really is wearing makeup.”

“What a fag.”

“I had my suspicions, honestly.”

“I know some of Sokka’s friends are a bit unorthodox, but he’s a cool dude and I didn’t think he’d hang around someone like _that._ ”

Zuko felt his entire body turn to ice. He was kind of expecting it, but hearing it - especially now, the first time he’s wearing any makeup in public - was actually worse than he had expected. Zuko glanced up at Sokka, and saw him clenching his jaw, the way he only ever did whenever he was pissed off about something, as he watched the guys walk into the hall. 

“I… I’ll head home. Don’t do anything rash.” Zuko mumbled, unwilling to attract any more attention. Sokka turned to him, his eyes turning softer as soon as he wasn’t looking at the assholes anymore.

“Okay, I’ll see you once I get back.” he said, and then turned to join the rest of his course mates. Zuko lingered for another second, and then left. As he walked, he could feel his eyes well up, and his vision was getting blurry. But he wasn’t even crying because of what happened. Well, technically he was, but it was more out of frustration. He _finally_ dared to move out of his comfort zone and wore makeup in public for the first time, and some douchebags just had to say something. Zuko _knew_ this would set him back several months. He had been working so hard to build his confidence up enough to do this, but now he wouldn’t be able to do it for who knows how long without hearing those comments in his head. _I just want to comfortably be myself in public, dammit!_

He barely even noticed where he was going, and as soon as he got back to Sokka’s apartment and closed the door behind himself, Zuko let a couple of tears fall. It wasn’t worth properly crying over the whole ordeal, but he allowed himself to lose his composure just a little bit, before he collected himself and went straight to the bathroom to remove the eyeliner. He really didn’t want any makeup on his face at that moment. Once he had dried his face off, he spent an entire minute just staring at his own face in the mirror. His eyes were slightly red rimmed, but he was thankful that was the only sign of his minor breakdown. Usually when he cried his face got all splotchy and ugly. But this wasn’t too bad. He sighed and left the bathroom. He didn’t want to think about the absolute disaster his morning had turned into, and sat down on the couch to immerse himself in uni work. Luckily, he had three assignments that were due during the next two weeks. 

************

By the time Sokka got back home, Zuko had actually managed to distract himself so much that he forgot about the events of the morning. But as soon as he looked up from his screen to smile at his boyfriend, he remembered and could feel his smile falter slightly. Sokka sat down next to him, and obviously noticed the current lack of eyeliner. Thankfully, he seemed to decide to not bring it up, and wordlessly relaxed against Zuko’s side.

“You were really brave today, baby.” Sokka mumbled, and Zuko couldn’t help but scoff. He had actually been so proud of himself when he left the apartment to deliver Sokka’s notebook, but that feeling seemed impossibly far away now.

“No, seriously. I didn’t even know you were thinking about wearing makeup in public, and then you just roll up to one of the most bigoted groups of people on campus, wearing eyeliner like the absolute boss you are.” Sokka said, sitting up to look Zuko seriously in the eye.

“Yeah, and that sure did me a lot of good.” Zuko muttered and averted his gaze. He most definitely didn’t feel much like a boss. Rather like an anxious and frustrated mess. He figured Sokka already knew that, though. Sokka was usually very good at guessing how Zuko was feeling.

“It definitely could have gone better, but I’m still very proud of you. And you know I’ll support you one hundred percent the next time you wanna try.” Sokka continued, and Zuko sighed.

“Well, that might be a while. I’m not even sure why I’m so upset at this, I expected that exact reaction. But I just know it will take me months to stop hearing those dudes in my head every time I even look at my products. I’m just… frustrated because this is going to set me back, and it took me so long to work up the courage to do this.” Zuko ranted, and the more he talked the more worked up he got. He only stopped once his voice almost broke. Sokka silently looked at him for a second, and then took Zuko’s laptop from his hands and placed it on the table. He pulled Zuko into an embrace, and then leaned back to make both of them lie down. Zuko clutched Sokka’s sweater and closed his eyes as he tried to hide his face in the crook of Sokka’s neck.

“It’s perfectly okay to be frustrated, love. I really wanted to punch their stupid little faces throughout the entire lecture. I think I only restrained myself because you told me to. Still doesn’t change the fact that you _did_ go out in public looking pretty as hell with your liner. It might not have gone over too well this time, but you still did the thing you set out to do. You took a really big step today, and you’re allowed to take a little break before doing it again.” Sokka said, and Zuko almost felt like crying again. Because Sokka was right, he had done it, even if the outcome had been less than desirable. He stopped himself though, and just snuggled a bit closer, letting himself be comforted.

************

A couple of weeks passed, and Zuko continued to wear his makeup at home, but didn’t wear it in public again. He also did his best to stay away from Sokka’s pol-sci classes, at least for the first two weeks since The Incident. But even once he wasn’t scared to be near those guys again, he didn’t have a reason to drop by. But this streak didn’t last much longer, as he was supposed to meet up with Sokka after his last class of the day five weeks after The Incident. They were going to Aang and Katara’s for movie night, and they were tasked with getting snacks on their way over.

As Zuko waited outside the classroom, he was surprised by how calm he felt. He had expected his nerves to be all over the place, but he actually didn’t feel much of anything. He scrolled mindlessly through his social media as he waited, and he didn’t even notice that he had been standing there for several minutes until the doors opened. Something was off, though. Usually the students were loud as they left a room, but today they were silent with the exception of a few students who were chattering on as usual.

Zuko looked around to see if he could figure out why they were acting weird, and he didn’t have to look for long. He spotted the group of assholes from The Incident, and they were staring in the direction of the door, obviously uncomfortable. Zuko followed their line of sight and suddenly realized why.

There Sokka was, in the most out there outfit Zuko had ever seen him wear. He was wearing what looked like mom jeans, with the cuffs rolled up and several colourful flowers painted on in bright shades of green, yellow, blue, red, and pink. Tucked into that, he wore a basic white shirt - but with bright yellow buttons - and he tied it all together with a heart-buckled belt and green Converse. It was a far cry from Sokka’s usual tight jeans and hoodies. And more than that, his hair was down (which it never was unless Sokka was at home all day), and the hair on one side of his face was held in place by several hair clips in bright colours, to match the rest of the outfit.

Zuko couldn’t help but stare. He had never seen Sokka in anything even remotely similar before. He was willing to bet Sokka didn’t own a single piece he was wearing, except the Converse. Sokka was talking to his professor about something , which meant Zuko couldn’t really see his face. But once Sokka turned to leave the room, Zuko’s breath hitched.

Sokka was wearing a _full face of makeup._ Sokka had spent the previous night at Suki’s, and Zuko knew she had been the one to put the makeup on. Zuko’s eyes were immediately drawn to the very bright eyeshadow. The lid had beautifully blended shades of yellow and blue, while there was smudged green shadow under the eye, and it was all tied together by green eyeliner. Suki had apparently felt like the look wasn’t extra enough, because on the opposite side of Sokka’s face from the hair clips, there were flowers in red, blue, green, and yellow drawn onto the cheekbone. Sokka was also wearing foundation, because his cute freckles weren’t visible. And from what Zuko could tell, Sokka was also wearing a pink-tinted lip gloss, because Zuko was absolutely sure his lips weren’t usually that pink.

The entire thing was _a lot_ to take in, and Zuko knew he was openly staring with his mouth open. He was completely stunned as Sokka skipped - actually _skipped_ \- up to him and put his arms around Zuko’s waist.

“Hi, babe.” Sokka greeted him cheerfully, and before Zuko even had time to react Sokka had planted a very sticky kiss on his cheek.

“Sokka? What? What’s going on?” Zuko eventually asked. _Very eloquent._ Sokka grabbed Zuko’s hand, and it seemed like he was trying to exaggerate the casual intimacy as much as he could without making it seem weird. Zuko watched him sneak a glance at the Asshole Group, who were looking more horrified by the second. Once Sokka was satisfied that they had watched the entire exchange, he started to lead Zuko away. Zuko just helplessly stumbled after his boyfriend, absolutely dumbstruck.

“I was just tired of them. Ever since they saw you wearing your liner they’ve been insufferable. They’ve been talking loudly about how men should act and look, and been forcing straight propaganda down everyone’s throats. They’ve even tried talking to me about how I’m ‘a cool dude’ and that I shouldn’t hang out with people who will ‘ruin my reputation’. I never replied, of course, but I figured this would get them to finally shut the fuck up.” Sokka muttered, and Zuko almost laughed. He had forgotten how petty his boyfriend could be. Sokka seemed to catch on to his amusement, as he grinned as they left the building.

“You should have seen their faces when I showed up. One of them actually looked like he was gonna faint. But you know, this isn’t half bad. I just pointed at the colours I liked and thought would match the jeans, and Suki worked her magic on my face. So, you know, if you ever want a face to practice on, you just gotta ask. Not that you couldn’t before, but I’m very down for it now. And Aang’s never getting these jeans back.” Sokka said as he swung their arms between them. 

Zuko was still stuck trying to process everything that had happened within the last five minutes, and he couldn’t stop staring at Sokka. Sokka, who had completely left his comfort zone just because he was petty over the fact that some assholes that didn’t even matter had made fun of Zuko. Or, gay people in general. But Zuko knew that if Sokka was mad at them for being homophobic, he would just have given them an angry lecture at most. It was the fact that they targeted Zuko that led Sokka to do something this drastic. Zuko knew Sokka just as well as Sokka knew him.

Once everything started to settle in his mind, Zuko couldn’t help the dopey smile that spread across his face. He gave Sokka’s hand a quick squeeze, and Sokka beamed at him. Zuko didn’t know how he got so damn lucky, but he was gonna cherish it for as long as he could.

It was a promise he had made several times before, and he made it once again as he placed a kiss onto the blue flower on Sokka’s cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> if you saw me slipping in my headcanon that Sokka would call Zuko 'babe' casually, but switch to 'baby' or 'love' when he's serious, no you didn't :)


End file.
